Design
ca. 1953 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
This design is by Edward Bawden (born Braintree 1903; died Saffron Walden, Essex 1989) who taught at the Royal College of Art from 1933 and Richard Guyatt (born La Coruña, Spain 1914; died Ham, Wiltshire, 2007) who was Professor of Graphic Arts at the same college. The design is for the proposed window treatment of Selfridges department store to celebrate the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II in 1953. This drawing is one of three for the Coronation decoration of Selfridges' exterior by these artists in the collection of the V&A. Ephemeral in nature, the drawing shows the way in which the Coronation celebrations engaged participants from a range of British design practice linking them to the commercial enterprise of Oxford Street.
The lion and the unicorn in this design have a precedent in Guyatt's work. He co-designed with colleagues from the same college the Lion and the Unicorn Pavilion as part of the 1951 Festival of Britain on South Bank, London. In this design, the symbolism of the beasts must be the same. They celebrate two perceived traits of Britishness; the solidity and strength of the lion and the imagination and eccentricity of the unicorn.
The lion and the unicorn in this design have a precedent in Guyatt's work. He co-designed with colleagues from the same college the Lion and the Unicorn Pavilion as part of the 1951 Festival of Britain on South Bank, London. In this design, the symbolism of the beasts must be the same. They celebrate two perceived traits of Britishness; the solidity and strength of the lion and the imagination and eccentricity of the unicorn.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Materials and techniques | Pencil, watercolour and bodycolour on paper |
| Brief description | Design, pencil, watercolour and bodycolour on paper, by Edward Bawden and Richard Guyatt for the decoration of Selfridges department store, Oxford Street, London, for the 1953 Coronation |
| Physical description | Design, the heads of a lion and a unicorn with red, white, and blue-striped scarves around their necks mounted side-by-side on yellow columns. |
| Dimensions |
|
| Production type | Design |
| Marks and inscriptions | 'Edward Bawden / & / Richard Guyatt' (Signatures of each artist in pencil at bottom right.) |
| Object history | This is a design to decorate the front of Selfridges department store to celebrate the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II in 1953. |
| Subjects depicted | |
| Summary | This design is by Edward Bawden (born Braintree 1903; died Saffron Walden, Essex 1989) who taught at the Royal College of Art from 1933 and Richard Guyatt (born La Coruña, Spain 1914; died Ham, Wiltshire, 2007) who was Professor of Graphic Arts at the same college. The design is for the proposed window treatment of Selfridges department store to celebrate the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II in 1953. This drawing is one of three for the Coronation decoration of Selfridges' exterior by these artists in the collection of the V&A. Ephemeral in nature, the drawing shows the way in which the Coronation celebrations engaged participants from a range of British design practice linking them to the commercial enterprise of Oxford Street. The lion and the unicorn in this design have a precedent in Guyatt's work. He co-designed with colleagues from the same college the Lion and the Unicorn Pavilion as part of the 1951 Festival of Britain on South Bank, London. In this design, the symbolism of the beasts must be the same. They celebrate two perceived traits of Britishness; the solidity and strength of the lion and the imagination and eccentricity of the unicorn. |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | E.439-2010 |
About this object record
Explore the Collections contains over a million catalogue records, and over half a million images. It is a working database that includes information compiled over the life of the museum. Some of our records may contain offensive and discriminatory language, or reflect outdated ideas, practice and analysis. We are committed to addressing these issues, and to review and update our records accordingly.
You can write to us to suggest improvements to the record.
Suggest feedback
You can write to us to suggest improvements to the record.
Suggest feedback
| Record created | April 16, 2010 |
| Record URL |
Download as: JSON
